The Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) has firmly rejected the Ghana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) directive to enforce a new GHS1 Energy Sector Shortfall and Debt Repayment Levy (ESSDRL) starting Monday, June 9, 2025.
In a strongly worded statement addressed to the GRA’s Commissioner-General, COMAC described the directive as coercive, poorly timed, and lacking industry consultation. “We cannot and will not begin implementing this levy from Monday, 9th June,” the group declared.
The Oil Marketers criticized how the GRA communicated the directive, via a letter dated Friday, June 6, a public holiday, and delivered on Sunday morning, giving companies less than 24 hours to comply. COMAC likened this move to an “institutional ambush,” describing it as a “Rambo-style directive.”
COMAC’s CEO and Industry Coordinator, Dr. Riverson Oppong, noted that despite engaging the Minister for Energy and Green Transition on June 5 and submitting three mitigation proposals, the concerns of the sector were ignored in the implementation rollout.
The group also raised concerns about the rising tax burden on petroleum products. Currently, eight different taxes and levies account for 22% of the ex-pump price. With the new ESSDRL, this figure jumps to 26%, a level COMAC warns could undermine business viability and raise prices at the pump for consumers.
Moreover, the chamber highlighted that cash-and-carry marketers, who operate on tight timelines, were given no time to plan for the new levy on stock to be lifted the following day.
As a way forward, COMAC is demanding at least a two-week transition period and proposes June 16, 2025, as a more practical start date. “We are industry stakeholders, not bystanders,” the group asserted, calling on the GRA to adopt a more collaborative approach going forward.
